DUSHANBE, October 23, 2013, Asia-Plus — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is expected to pay an official visit to Tajikistan in early November, a well-informed source said.
According to him, the main purpose of the visit is for the Iranian president to discuss with high-ranking Tajik state officials issues related to expanding bilateral economic cooperation between the two nations.
“Several large facilities are being constructed in Tajikistan with help of Iranian companies under financial support of the Government of Iran, and therefore, it would be something to talk about,” the source noted.
He further added that it could not be ruled that Rahmon and Rouhani would discuss completion of construction of the Istiqlol Tunnel and introduction of the Sangtuda-2 hydroelectric power plant (HPP) into operation in Tajikistan.
According to the Ministry of Transport (MoT) of Tajikistan, Tajik specialists and their Iranian colleagues are expected to recount the cost of completion of the Istiqlol Tunnel. The recalculation will be done following increase in prices of building materials and fuels.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the government of Tajikistan and Iran on completion of the Istiqlol Tunnel that was endorsed by the Tajik parliament in April this year provides for allocation of additional 6 million U.S. dollars. This amount includes US$3 million grant provided by the Government of Iran and US$3 million provided by the Government of Tajikistan.
Iran’s Saber International has been chosen to complete the construction of the tunnel.
Some sources say that at the best, the work on completion of the Istiqlol Tunnel will start next year if the sides come to an agreement on the financing issues.
The Istiqlol Tunnel, better known among the population as the Anzob Tunnel, has been built with assistance of Iranian specialists. Iran’s Saber International has constructed the Istiqlol Tunnel. The total project cost was estimated at 40 million US dollars, and Iran has provided US$10 million in a form of grant and extended a preferential loan worth US$21 million to Tajikistan.
The tunnel makes the highway from Dushanbe to Khujand open for traffic the whole year round and drops the transit time by four to five hours. An official opening ceremony of the Istiqlol Tunnel was held in July 2007; however, some works have remained unfinished.
The Istiqlol Tunnel is a five kilometer long tunnel located 80 kilometers northwest of Dushanbe. It connects the Tajik capital to Tajikistan’s second largest city, Khujand. It is also a transit route between Dushanbe and Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent. Previously, especially during the cold seasons, a lack of a direct link between northern and southern Tajikistan led to disruptions of commerce.
The work on installation of the second unit at the Sangtuda-2 hydroelectric power plant (HPP) is under way. Introduction of the second unit of the Sangtuda-2 HPP into operation is expected to increase Tajikistan’s annual generation of electricity by 500 million kWh.
The first unit of the plant was introduced into operation on September 5, 2011. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended a joint ceremony to unveil the Sangtuda-2 dam and power plant.
Construction of Sangtuda-2, a 220-megawatt plant on the Vakhsh River, officially commenced in February 2006. It is located some 120 kilometers southeast of Dushanbe.
Iran, which has put some 180 million U.S. dollars into the construction of the hydropower station, will operate it for the next 12 years and then transfer control to Tajikistan, whose contribution to the construction costs amounted to around 40 million U.S. dollars.
The power plant is expected to help alleviate power shortages in Tajikistan during autumn-winter period.
According to data of the State Committee for Statistics, a two-way trade between Tajikistan and Iran in January-September 2013 has valued at US$229.575 million. This consisted of Tajikistan’s exports to Iran estimated at US$95.7 million and Tajikistan’s imports from Iran worth US$133.8 million.
